Television

A GLAAD study of Spanish-language television series found there is still a lack of LGBT characters in Hispanic television.

The second annual study, titled “Still Invisible,” found that only 19 out of 698 roles had an LGBT character on Telemundo, UniMás and Univision, according to the Advocate. The lack of roles on the three biggest Spanish language channels caused GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis to call for change in the amount of diversity offered.

"An estimated 21 [percent] of the 1.4 million transgender people in the United States are Latinx. LGBTQ people of color are more likely to be raising children,” Ellis said. “The Spanish-language television industry is thus not reflecting back the realities of a sizeable portion of its audience."

The report also found that these characters were not usually being placed in main roles. Five of the characters were for comic relief, four were in the closet and six were killed off (though not all specifically due to being LGBT).

“It remains troubling that producers cannot imagine a way for LGBTQ characters to have successful relationships, families and/or success in business the way the heterosexual and cisgender characters do in the same programs,” the report said. “Writers seemed to face challenges when creating LGBTQ characters that audiences could relate to and root for, especially since more and more of the stories occurred in the world of drug trafficking: four of the LGBTQ characters were villains who worked for criminal organizations.”